Handies Peak… the Memorial Day (weekend) Adventure

What can I say. The Lt Col planned a bachelor weekend – as he shipped out the family for a few weeks – and a Lt Col bachelor weekend usually results in…. CHAOS!

But I won’t tell you about the CHAOS. What happens when the family is out of town stays… SECRET.

Side Note: I bet The Lt Col will get a whippin’ or two over that statement. HA HA HA. Sucks to be SOMEONE other than The Judd!

Ok, back to the info.

The only plan that we had for Memorial Day weekend WAS not to have a plan. Get it. We had a planning session over Chicken & Waffles and agreed to: drive up, hang out, ride bikes, head to Silverton, find Handies Peak, ride bikes, hang out, etc. That was the plan… not to have a plan.

So, the stories, such as the drunk Oklahoma dude that wanted to argue about ancient tools found in Turkey and educate us ‘college kids’ on the periodic table, will remain in our memories. And that’s about all I have to say. Except for some Lessons Learned – lessons that could save your life someday.

then and now – 20th & 21st century

Lessons Learned:

Don’t roll out of Silverton with a 1/4 tank of gas

Don’t try to buy pizza in Silverton before 4 PM

Don’t roll with a government issued Camelbak that only has an attachment, a valve, for a gas mask.

‘surely it should come with both’ says the Lt Col

If you bring firewood, bring matches.

If the weathers says wind gusts over 75 – just leave the firewood at home.

You can wear a track suit, KoRN style, and survive a 14er. Well, at least I think that tourist hiker survived.

If you are headed to Handies – from Silverton – over Cinnamon Pass… Be sure to leave Silverton by 2:30 PM. Because you must get to the Handies Peak trailhead with like 16 hrs before your hike. Yeah, get there early, especially if the wind is gusting over 50 and you have no food and you plan to sit in the car until the 8 AM.

If you’re a Lt Col, don’t wear hipster cargo pants while climbing a 14er – the range of motion creates an issue or two.

Quote of the Trip:

“this would’ve been a lot easier if I hadn’t polished off 9 gallons of IPA in the last 48 hrs.”